New Beginning
by MoonGirl
Summary: Her big brother Eddie is all that TJ's got left. With his new girlfriend Leah, he's too distracted to find out what she's hiding. But will she open up to Embry, who her brother seems to have an unreasonable hatred towards?
1. Chapter 1

**Updated a couple of tiny things, no real difference to the first one.**

A green blur flew past my window as my older brother Eddie drove us towards our new home in La Push. The place down here was green, every inch of landscape on either side of us covered in trees. I sighed loudly and Eddie heard.

"It won't be that bad," he assured me. "You'll love it. My friend from when we spent the summer here when I was seven, Seth Clearwater, he lives there. He told me it's a really awesome place."

"Oh, and that makes it so much better," I grumbled. "It's too close. I want to get as far away as possible from home. This is still in the same continent."

"TJ, I've told you so many times, I've lost count," Eddie said. "It's impossible for us to go to Europe. But I'm going to get a job and you're going to finish your last year of school. I think Seth is your year, you'd probably be in the same class."

"It's already halfway through the year," I complained. "I'm not going to bother finishing. You can't make me go."

"TJ, please do as I ask," Eddie sighed. "I don't know why i promised mom I would look after you. Now we're here so please don't offend anyone"

I hadn't noticed we had reached a town, probably because this was on the outskirts. We were stopped outside an old house that had recently been painted a light blue colour. What really took me was the massive garden out front. There were heaps of beautiful roses and bright flowers lining the white picket fence.

"Oh!" I gasped. "Its beautiful."

He smirked and opened the back door of the car

"Shut up," I grumbled, getting out of the car.

"Come on, help me get these boxes," he ordered, handing one to me.

I reluctantly grabbed it and carried it up to the door of the house. The movers vans had moved all our other stuff, like beds and couches, in already, and we just had a few treasured possessions and clothes to move in.

"Where are the keys?" I called back to him.

He transferred his box to one arm and fished in his pocket for the key.

"Here," he unlocked it and pushed the door open.

It opened into a quaint little living room to the right and a kitchen/dining room to the left. A staircase stood straight in front of us.

"Your room is the second on the right upstairs," he said to my unasked question.

I clomped up the stairs, almost falling over my unseen feet and miraculously making it to my room. The bare bed stood in the center of it all, and I could see Eddie had left everything for me to unpack and sort out how I liked it.

I dumped the box on the ground and went back down for another. Eddie was already outside, talking to a huge guy who looked familiar.

"OMG!" I whispered to myself. "That is so not Seth."

I quickly skipped down to Eddie's side and carefully examined the wide smiling face of the boy in front of him.

"It is you Seth!" I said, amazed at how tall he was.

He towered over me and had huge muscles but his wide smile made the fright of his hugeness go away.

"Yep, it's me," he grinned in that familiar way. "Do you guys need any help?"

"We don't have much to do," Eddie said. "But your help would be appreciated all the same."

I grabbed a box out of the car and puffed at its heavy weight. Seth grabbed two boxes, both which I knew to be heavier than the one I was carrying and lifted them up with ease. "Muscles much," i muttered under my breath.

Something about his grin made me sure he had heard me and i blushed as i took the box up to my new room.

With Seths help we managed to get everything inside in less than ten minutes, not that there was much anyway.

I messily made my bed, too tired to sort out anything else in my new room, then went downstairs in search of food.

"Is there any food?" I asked Eddie hopefully.

"Nope," he said. "I can take us in to town or something."

"I'll live," I yawned. "I'm going to bed; I'm so tired I'm not sure I'll make it back up the stairs."

I woke to a strange light, and my first thoughts were, where the hell am I? Then I realised and shoved my head under my pillow.

"TJ, I got some food!" I hear the slamming of a door as Eddie came inside. "Can you come down? I'm starving."

I leapt out of bed and raced down the stairs before Eddie could try to make a disastrous breakfast. He is the most hopeless cook I have ever seen.

"I'm here, don't burn down the house on our first day living in it," I announced.

He grinned at me. "Seth's coming over later to show me around," he said, pulling things out of the bags to put away.

"Cool," I nodded. "I still don't like his place though. Something about it gives me the creeps."

"You're just over-reactive," Eddie groaned as I looked to see what he got.

I must have been pretty tired when he got up to go out, a herd of elephants would be put to shame with the amount of noise he makes.

"How do scrambled eggs sound?" I asked him.

"Delicious," he moaned, rubbing his stomach.

"I'll get right on it," I smiled at my big brother.

After we ate, Eddie did the dishes, and I went outside. The back garden was even more impressive than the front, and made me smile with delight as i looked at all the pretty flowers. Our mother had been an avid gardener and pretty gardens reminded me of her bright smiling face. It hurt a little, remembering her, but i was used to it by now, since she had died three years ago.

I went back to the house and saw that a car had pulled up in front. Seth and a girl I didn't know got out and came up the path. I made sure my breathing was even and put a smile on my face. I opened the door to them as Eddie bounded down the stairs behind me.

"Hey Seth," I greeted. "And..."

"Leah, his sister," she smiled at me.

"I'm TJ," I said.

"And I'm Eddie," Eddie appeared at my shoulder and smiled at her.

She looked at him with a sort of happy shock on her face and quickly bounded back down the stairs to their car.

"What?" Eddie was confused.

"Leah's like that," Seth shrugged it off but I could see the excitement in his face, though I didn't know what about. "So, have you finished unpacking yet?"

"Nope," Eddie grimaced. "And I don't plan on spending my whole day doing it either. You gonna show me around the place?"

"Sure," Seth said. "I had intending to bring Leah to keep TJ company but I'm not sure..."

"I will," Leah came back inside and smiled brightly at Eddie. "Sorry, I thought I heard my phone ring, I'm expecting a call."

I don't know why, but I didn't believe her.

"Well, come on then," Seth said to Eddie. "Let's go."

They disappeared to the car, leaving me and Leah standing awkwardly just inside the door. I examined her face carefully.

"You like my brother," I stated.

"Yeah," she said, seeming surprised that I got that in the short couple of minutes they had been together.

"Don't worry, that's okay," I smiled. "He is an awesome guy and wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Just don't hurt him if you want to get in a relationship, he means everything to me."

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything to hurt him," she said quickly. "But isn't it usually the other way around, the guy who hurts the girl?"

"Um yeah, probably," I giggled.

"So, do you want my company or should I leave?" she asked me.

"Well, I was going to sort out my room, but I could do something else if you want to stay," I said.

"I'll help you with your room," Leah told me brightly.

Whilst we made my room habitable, Leah asked me allsorts of questions about Eddie. I happily answered, as I thought she would be the perfect match for Eddie and I really liked her.

"So, what do you think?" I asked her as we stood back to survey our handiwork.

Almost every square inch of the walls were covered in posters, drawings and photos of people, places, and songs. I had an obsession with bright colours and everything that reminded me of bright colours. The desk had my laptop and a lamp on it, as well as my sketchpad and pencils. The wardrobe was full of my bright clothes that Leah had looked at in surprise as i filled it up.

"You can come decorate my room any day," she said. "I love it."

"Thanks," I said.

She glanced at her watch and grimaced. "Damn, I better go," she said. "I was hoping to catch up with Emily and I really wanted to tell her something important. You might want to get dressed soon."

"Ohh, oops," i giggled, looking down at my pj shorts and singlet. "I'll do that.

**Please review! Any critisism is appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is probably going to sound a whole lot different to the first chapter since i originally wrote that like two years ago, and I rewrote this from the basic story just yesterday. **

The rest of the day was spent baking, the perfect thing to fill up the kitchen and make the house smell lived in, instead of the horrid musty smell it had from being unoccupied for so long.

Dancing as I listened to the radio and taste tested at every step, I hardly noticed Eddie come in the door.

"That smells brilliant," he said, giving me a hug from behind as he looked to see what I was making. "Can I eat it?"

"No," I slapped his hand away from where it was snaking towards the chocolate chips. "It's not ready. But you can try one of the cookies I just took out of the oven."

He turned to the other bench to grab one of my secret recipe cookies, which he juggled before stuffing it in his mouth.

"Ahh, hot!" he mumbled with his mouth full, waving his hands in front of his open mouth. I stared in disbelief as he hardly chewed it, instead swallowing it whole.

"Jeez Eddie, pig much?" I grumbled. "Save room for tea. It's gonna be our first proper meal here, so I made your favorite, spaghetti bolognaise."

"Love you Teej," he kisses me on the cheek.

"Eww, boy germs!" I shriek, brandishing my spoon as a weapon. He promptly grabbed it and licked all of the mixture off in one swipe.

"Yuck, get out of my kitchen!" he dodged the washcloth i threw at him, laughing at me. "If you want something to do how about unpacking everything in the lounge. Then chuck all the boxes up in the attic. I am determined to have this place cleaned up by Monday."

"So you are going to school then," he stated.

"Well, if all the guys around here are like Seth then I think maybe I might try it," I told him. "Get tidying or I won't go. If I go to school I won't have any time to finish here."

"Knowing you, you'd pull an all nighter cleaning," Eddie said. "What with your OCD and everything."

"I don't have OCD!" I growled. "Stop annoying me else I won't cook for a whole week!"

"Sorry!" he almost ran from the room. Sometimes threat of cutting off food supplies works best for dealing with teenage boys.

Sunday morning i got up determined to walk down to the beach. Peeping over the trees the sun promised to give us a warm day, so I dressed in denim shorts, a white tank top and a grey hoodie. Deciding not to wear shoes, I left a note for Eddie telling him where I was going and set off down the road, sketchbook under my arm and pencils in my pocket.

The beach was empty of people when I got there so I settled down by a driftwood log to draw. The scenery was perfect to sketch without color, and I soon had half a dozen sketches of the various angles. I paused a moment to soak up the sun, and when I opened my eyes a small boy on chubby legs who didnt look like he had been using them long came wobbling up to me. He had a cute grin and an angelic face.

An older girl, who was maybe four came running up behind him.

"Careful Tyler, don't go near the water," she said importantly and then smiled at me. "Hello. I'm Claire. Who are you?"

"I'm TJ," I said, immediately picking up on her cheerful mood.

"This is my little cousin," she said. "His name is Jamie."

"Thats a nice name," I said.

"Claire?" a woman's motherly voice called out. "Bring Tyler back here and stay away from the water! Don't run ahead of me!"

"We're here Aunt Emily," Claire shouted back.

A woman came from the path I had used to get to the beach.

"Oh, hello," she smiled sweetly at me, and I saw she was very heavily pregnant under her skirt. "You must be TJ. Leah said you and your brother arrived on Friday."

"Yes," I nodded, my eyes drawn to the scars on her face. I tried not to stare.

"Sorry, Im Emily," the smile pulled her scars in funny ways, but I could see the beauty they marred. "Leah and Seth are my second cousins. We're pretty close."

"Oh right, Leah said she was going to see you after she left yesterday," I smiled up at her, getting who she was.

"Yes, she told me about your room," she kept her eye on Claire and Tyler, who were now examining a rock. "It sounds brilliant. Do you have anything planned for tea tonight? We're having a barbecue at our house tonight, and you and your brother are welcome to come. Seth thought it would be a good idea to invite you, to meet some locals and also a couple of boys who will be at your school on Monday. There's plenty of food for everyone."

"That sounds great," I said. "Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Something for dessert would be nice," she gave me directions before calling to Tyler and Claire to continue their walk along the beach.

Claire raced up and took her outstretched hand, waving at me with her toothy grin stretching across her face. I waved back and sat a while after they were gone before picking up my sketchbook and walking home.

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry if there are randoms bits pasted into the middle, Im having technical difficulties and my IPad isn't co-operating with me. Anyway,enjoy!

The house was perfect before we left, and I grudgingly passed Eddie's outfit. He wore loose dark blue jeans that just brushed the tops of his shoes and a white graphic tee that was now tight on his chest and arms.

"Eds, you're having another growth spurt," I congratulated him. "You're actually almost as big as Seth. You could be way bigger than him still though."

"Well, we can't all remain vertically challenged midgets for life," he said playfully, exaggerating as he compared our heights.

I punched him as I got into his car and pretended to sulk.

"You are the meanest brother anyone could ever have," I pouted.

Leah was waiting outside for us and as soon as she saw Eddie she seemed to forget about me and her face lit up into a brilliant smile that would stay there for the whole night. Seth rescued me from their gaga eyes, and I barely had a chance to put the plate I was carrying on the bench inside before he dragged me off outside.

First thing I noticed was that the boys were all huge, like Seth and Eddie. Next thing I noticed was that they outnumbered the women. There were two with Emily, plus Leah, and me, and I guess Claire and the other little girl counted from where they were climbing all over two of the more muscled boys. I did a quick count and got nine, plus Eddie. I then realized that we werent that outnumbered, just their impossible sizes made it seem so, and the fact that only half of them were wearing shirts.

"Jeez, is there something in the water around here?" I mumbled to Seth.

He grinned like it was something he had heard before, which I guess he probably had.

"Come and meet some of the guys, they're not that scary once you get to know them," he tugged my elbow towards a couple of the smaller guys, who were shirtless and showing off their muscles. "This is Collin and Brady. They're in the year below us at school."

"Hey," Collin had a huge grin on his face that I couldn't help returning. "Did you know you are freaking perfect?"

"Um, thank you?" I was unsure what to say.

"What he means is your face is perfect for what we have planned on Monday," Brady cut in. "No one would suspect that it was us if we were showing the pretty looking new girl around school. You any good at acting?"

"I can't do anything to get me into trouble," I pulled a face and checked to see Eddie was still talking to Leah. "I got expelled from my last school, and Eddie threatened me with boarding school if I get so much as one detention."

"All you have to do is walk past a couple of teachers with us and say we were showing you around," Collin begged. "Come on please, I'll be your slave forever?"

"That's a deal I can't resist," I grinned at him. "OK then, Be prepared to be amazed by the Tessa-Joanne show. By the way, call me that anytime other than tomorrow morning, just be warned I have friends in the mafia who know how to make people disappear."

"We have been warned," Brady grinned.

"Now that you're done corrupting the new girl, I'll take her to meet some people who will hopefully have the opposite influence on her," Seth grinned and led me over to the people standing around Emily. A man who I presumed to be her husband had his arms around her waist with his hands cradling her large stomach, and two other couples were standing in similar ways.

"Hey TJ," Emily smiled, and Tyler grinned up at me from his perch on her feet. "I'm so glad you could come. I hope Collin and Brady haven't been trying to corrupt you."

"No, they just offered to show me around school tomorrow morning," I said innocently with a wide smile, ignoring Seth, who was coughing to hide his laughter. "They seem nice."

She seemed a little suspicious, but then the smile returned to her face.

"This is Rachel and Paul, my husband Sam and Kim and Jared," she introduced me to the people around her. "You're related to Jared right?"

"Um yeah, second cousins I think," I frowned, trying to remember. "Our dad's were cousins."

"That's right," she nods at me. "Off you go then Seth, introduce her to the others."

He flashes a grin at her before steering me to the last three guys, where Collin and Brady have now gone. They give me wicked grins as the others all examine me with open curiosity on their faces. I can tell, that although he is sitting, the one with the pale girl on his knee is definitely the hugest one here, at maybe six foot seven/eight. Theoretically I should be scared of him, plus the hugely muscled guy Claire is sitting on, but the looks that pass between them and the little girls makes me warm to them instantly.

"TJ, this is Jake, Nessie, Quil, Claire, and Embry," Seth introduces me. "Jake, Quil and Embry are all Seniors, so if you ever need a ride to school or something take your pick."

"How many years did you get left behind?" sometimes the words skip the thinking part of my brain and just jump out of my mouth.

"None actually," Jake grins at me. "We're all eighteen."

"Uh-huh, If thats what you tell yourself," my eyes travelled over all of them, their freakish height and huge muscles.

"And how old are you then?" Quil asks with a cheeky grin, like he already knows the answer.

"You should never ask a woman her age, it's very rude," I retort, and see immediately I've set him up.

"What woman?" he pretends to look around. "I only see this freakishly short midget who could be thirteen, at a leap."

I poke out my tongue, which makes him burst into laughter.

"Stop teasing her Quil," The third one, who has been on the outskirts and just listening says with laughter in his voice. "You're making her look even more little."

I pout as I check him out. He looks warmer, softer than the others, not as hugely muscled. His muscles were more subtle on him, but he was still tall, taller than Quil, but not as big as Jacob. His eyes should have a warning sign on them, since I got pulled into their depths and started to drown. Thankfully he was one of the few wearing shirts, else I probably would have had a heart attack, but as it was I could see way too much of his muscles.

"Yeah, you can't insult the face that is gonna get us out of trouble tomorrow," Collin sticks up for me and makes me break away from Embry's intense gaze. "The whole look is brilliant. The teacher's will love you."

"Glad I can be of service," I smile at him, my heart beating a little too fast, my cheeks getting red.

"Dude, move over, let TJ sit, we have to have our scapegoat in top form for tomorrow morning," Brady said, shoving Embry's shoulder. "She has to be at school early enough for our plan to work."

Embry willingly moved over on the log that the boys were sitting on and I sat down beside him. The heat radiating off of him was welcome in the cooling night air. I carefully sat as close to him as possible without actually touching but he moved to lean back a little, and our arms bumped anyway.

"Sorry," he mumbled out an apology, eyes coming up to meet mine again.

My heart thumped louder and I forgot to breathe for a moment. He was just so freaking beautiful. A smile crossed his face and I looked away, towards Seth who was watching us with an idiotic grin.

"What?" I demanded.

"Nothing," he quickly wiped the grin off but it couldn't stay away from his happy face for long. "Just you look tiny next to Embry."

I scowled and moved so my back was towards him, cutting him out as Jake asked me what subjects were my favorite at school.

"Art," I told him. "I had a really awesome teacher at my last school, and now I want to be an Art teacher."

"I can see you doing that," Quil said. "Though you'd have to teach little kids because teenagers would be too tall."

"You know, I might just leave is everyone's going to make fun of me," I pouted and went to stand.

"No stay, they'll shut up," Embry said softly, catching my hand before I could stand all the way up. "Right guys?" His voice carried a warning as he said that, and he gave them meaningful stares.

"Fine, no more short jokes," Quil sighed, then grinned. "For today."

I sat back down and Embry let go of me, but now everyone was watching us. I squirmed uncomfortably and was glad when Collin took everyone's attention away.

There was a stampede as Emily announced that the food was ready, and I was left bewildered on the log with Embry laughing at my expression.

"We're teenage boys," he said in way of explanation. "We get hungry. Come get some food before it's all eaten."

I followed him into the suddenly crowded house and he pushed the others aside for me to get to the front.

"Wait for the guests to get their food first," Emily chided the starved boys. "Quickly TJ, their stomachs won't hold off much longer."

I quickly piled my plate, and Claire led me back out to the log. I carried her plate so she wouldn't spill it all over the ground, and put it on her knees once she was in the spot Quil had vacated.

"Them boys are all pigs," she told me happily. "But they don't get fat like pigs."

"No, they don't," I agreed wholeheartedly, thinking of their muscles they were so proud of, especially Embry's.

"What's her number?" I asked Eddie as soon as he started up the car.

"What makes you think I got it?" he looked away from me so I couldn't see the huge grin on his face.

"Dude, no one got a chance to talk to you all night," I shove his arm. "You and Leah were like in your own little world. So when are you going out on a date with her?"

"Tuesday," the happiness on his face was evident, so much so that it distracted me from the heat radiating off of him.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't expect all of the chapters to be put upthis quick, it'll probably be another week before I post again, just I've had this one written for ages, and I keep freaking out that I'll delete it and have to start again. Also I'm still having technical difficulties so sorry if things are in random places. Enjoy!

* * *

Eddie dropped me off at school on the way to his job interviews, and I was immediately spotted and captured by Collin and Brady.

"You need to go to the office, and make it real quick, cause we need our alibi soon," Brady said, practically shoving me across the carpark. "Tell her you met a couple of guys who've offered to show you around."

"By the way, the shirt is brilliant," Collin added as they opened the door for me, looking down at my pink hello kitty T-shirt.

I grinned at him before stepping inside and turning on my innocent face.

"Good morning," I beamed innocently at the office lady. "My name's Tessa-Joanne. Todays my first day."

She peered at me over her glasses and her face instantly warmed to the childish grin on my face.

"Good morning dear," she returned my smile. "I have all of your documents here. Your schedule's all sorted so thats in there, as well as your student handbook and a map of the school. You've also got a couple of forms to fill out, they need to be in to me by Friday? Do you want me to get someone to show you around?"

"No thankyou," I smiled at her, keeping it dumb. "I met a couple of boys at a barbecue last night and they offered to show me around before classes started. They're waiting outside for me right now."

She peered behind me at Collin and Brady, who waved at her.

"You be careful around those boys," she warned me. "But have a nice day anyway."

"You too," i put on my biggest fakest smile as I left, and the two boys escorted me away.

"Ugh, so why did I even do that?" I was curious as they did do what was expected and showed me a couple of classes.

"Well lets just say, the less you know, the better," Brady grinned.

"So you can't be called guilty by accomplice, or whatever it is," Collin said, giving a smile to the teacher who walked past.

"Just look all cute and innocent," Brady reminded me, as I put on another huge fake smile.

One of the boys who I had met the night before were in each of my classes, but not before Lunch when we had split girl/boy gym class. I was befriended by a gum-chewing girl, one of my pet hates, who chatted non stop to me the whole lesson. She walked me to lunch and seemed to want me to sit by her and her similarly bubble headed friends. Thankfully Collin called out to me just as I finished getting my food.

"Wait, you're not going over to them are you?" she asked, grabbing my arm as I started to walk and giving them a quick look out the corner of her eye.

"Um yeah, why?" I asked.

"They're like, in a gang and do drugs," she said nervously. "You don't wanna get messed up with them."

"Too late," I gave a dramatic sigh. "There's no hope for me anymore. Just you listen to your own advice."

I left her speechless and went to sit at the empty seat at the table between Embry and Seth. Something in their expressions and the way they were all staring at me made me think they had heard every word I just said.

"This school's great," I said as I sat down, sliding my tray in front of me. "The teachers think Im a bubblehead and the students think I'm a druggie, all before lunch. I wonder what rumors people can come up with before last bell."

"Sam's going to be pissed at you, we're supposed to be keeping a low profile," Seth lightly pushed my shoulder. "People already have enough to gossip about."

"It's not true so as long as the people who count know the truth let them think what they like," I shrugged, then a sudden thought occurred to me. "Wait, the rumors are just lies aren't they? I haven't just told that chick the truth now have I?"

"I wish," Embry sighed. "Our lives would be so much easier if that was the case. But no, we aren't drug dealers and aren't in a gang, although it does depend on your definition of the word."

"Good," I smiled at him.

Last class was art, which left me in a good mood when the final bell went. Seth checked his phone as we made our way out to the carpark and steered me towards a beat up light blue Chevy ute.

"Your brother just asked if I could get you a ride home," he said. "He's still in an interview and thinks he's got a job on the marina."

"Eew, he's gonna stink like fish when he comes home," I pulled a face. "So whose truck?"

"Mine," Quil came past us holding Claire's hand. He opened the door to let her get in the cab. "You get in here with us, Embry and Seth will ride on the back and Paul takes the other two home on his way to Rachel's."

I scrambled in beside Claire and scowled at the easy way the two boys leapt onto the truck bed, but it disappeared as Embry sent me a smile through the glass and was replaced by a stupid smile and a mushy feeling in my stomach.

I was dropped off first and waved to the guys as Quil drove away. Sighing, I went inside to start on my homework, first checking my emails, getting an excited buzz when I had three, but then I found out they were all junk. I completely reorganized my room once I had done my homework, singing to my radio, and dancing around like a crazy person because I felt like it.

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Please Review! And also sorry if the characters are inconsistent, I had a break between writing the chapters, so there may be some random parts in the first couple of chapters that aren't mentioned again, or completely contradicted.


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